This invention relates to drivers for rotary surgical cutting tools, and, more particularly, to drivers used in maxillo-facial, neuro, dental, trauma and orthopedic surgery, including reamer drivers.
Surgical ratchets are complicated mechanical devices which have crevices and recesses that, heretofore, have been difficult, if not almost impossible to clean with ease. Devices that are not properly cleaned and sterilized run the risk of disease transfer from patient to patient following the emergence of certain “prions” that are not killed by normal hospital sterilisation and need to be physically removed by washing/rinsing. For this reason, in the prior art, ratchet mechanisms have be hermetically sealed to prevent contamination. However, the seals are not 100% reliable.
What is needed therefore is a surgical ratchet that is easily disassemblable for cleaning, so as to better ensure sterilization.